For my mom’s birthday I wanted to make her a cake with her favorite things, strawberries and caramel.

I made a strawberry layer cake (from a box mix) with fresh strawberry filling, caramel buttercream, and vanilla bean whipped cream.

Note:

For best results, make the cake layers, the strawberry filling, and the caramel for the buttercream in advance of when you want to make the final cake.  The cake layers should be chilled well, the strawberry filling should be well set and chilled completely, and the caramel needs to be at room temperature.

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Strawberry Cake:

1/2 stick of butter, unsalted

1/4 cup oil

140g Polaner All Fruit strawberry spread

2 eggs

1 box strawberry cake mix

3/4 cup whole milk

2 tbsp creme fraiche

Procedure:  

Cream the butter, fruit spread, and oil slowly, for about 3-5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next.  Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk/creme fraiche, beginning and ending with the dry.  

Bake according to package directions. Use cake baking strips!!  Set aside to cool completely then cut the layers in half the long way, so that you end up with four layers about 3/4”-1” high. Wrap and refrigerate until chilled. 

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Fresh Strawberry Filling:

2 quarts of strawberries (625-675g) rough chopped or diced, reserve around 1/2 a pound (200g) of the best looking ones for topping

125g sugar

1/2 a lemon, juiced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

Procedure:  

Slice 4 cups of strawberries 3/16” thick.  Reserve around 2 cups of the best looking slices, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.   Combine the remaining 3 cups of strawberries with the sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a medium sauce pan.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Combine the water and cornstarch into a smooth slurry and pour into strawberry mixture and stir to thicken the filling.  Be careful, when stirring, to spare the strawberries as much as possible, so that they keep their shape.

Separate the filling into two equal parts and set aside to cool.

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Caramel Buttercream:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp water

1/3 cup heavy cream, hot

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup butter, softened to creaming temp (65-68F)

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla, or the seeds of 1/2 bean

1/4 tsp salt

1/4-1/3 cup heavy cream

Procedure:

First, make the caramel.  Add the sugar and water to a small-medium sauce pan with high sides and bring to a boil.  Watch carefully and gently SWIRL (no stirring!) as it begins to brown to keep the color even throughout.  When the sugar is caramelized well (8 minutes or so), slowly add the hot cream and butter and whisk to combine well.  Bring back to a boil and cook until you reach 238F, then remove from heat.

Transfer the caramel to a dish and stir in the butter.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

To make the frosting, cream the butter, caramel and vanilla alone for 3-4 minutes, then start adding the powdered sugar in three installments, incorporating each addition before moving to the next.  Add heavy cream to lighten the buttercream, if needed, then transfer to a piping bag with a round tip.

Stabilized Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream:

2 tsp (1 packet) unflavored gelatin

4 tsp (1 tbsp + 1 tsp) water

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

2 tsp vanilla, or the seeds from 1 bean

1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Procedure:

Add the water to the gelatin and let it bloom for 5 minutes. Heat in the microwave in 15 second bursts and stirring, to melt it completely.  Set aside to cool.  Add heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar to  the mixing bowl and beat with the whisk attachment until you get medium peaks. Drizzle in the cooled, melted gelatin and whisk to stiff peaks.   Transfer to a piping bag and chill to set. 

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Assembly

Place a cake layer on a cake plate and pipe a dam of caramel butter cream around the outside border of the layer and then put half of the strawberry filling inside the buttercream “dam”.

Repeat this for the second layer, then place the top layer and press the whole cake slightly to settle it, level the cake, and press out any gaps between the layers.

Crumb coat the cake and refrigerate until chilled, 3 hrs minimum up to overnight.

Frost the cake on the sides and top with the caramel buttercream and top with vanilla bean whipped cream and more sliced strawberries.